Thaw
by Kipling Bunny
Summary: Sometimes it takes the severity of a bad situaiton to thoroughly express your feelings.


Disclaimer: Nothing is mine.

Thank you to GeekyWWBMFan. :D She's awesomeeeee.

This is just a oneshot with BMWWness. It's been awhile since I've written them, so I hope it's up to snuff. Thank you for reading.

* * *

"How exactly did we end up in this situation?" Flash asked over the din of the oncoming army, mirroring Diana's thoughts exactly.

Bruce looked as though he was trying to remain calm but failing miserably at it. "We're trying to stop a civil war. _That's_ how we got into this situation."

Batman never went on galactic missions and his voice was an acute reflection of that fact.

But Bruce insisted that he escort Wally and Diana to the frosty world of Aisukuri-Mu after Diana had suffered superficial injuries after a fight with Ares just two days beforehand.

Wally and Diana had been the only available Leaguers who could readily assist the political upset taking place on the planet. Not even Green Lantern could join them. And John considered Aisukuri-Mu as 'part of his jurisdiction' even when technically it wasn't.

At this moment, the three League members were deployed in the middle of the two warring sides. And neither side wished for them to be there, which was making it gravely impossible to escape without engaging in a battle.

After Diana had tried discussing diplomatic relations with both warring parties, it became relatively clear that they weren't going to offer an understanding of peace.

Flash was getting antsy. "Did they bring us here just to attack us?"

Diana studied the military forces around them; they decorated the snowy landscape in a tangled yet organized disarray. She was quickly outlining a strategic move to get themselves safely back to the javelin.

If she could get into the air without being hit.

"Careful Diana, both combative nations pride themselves on their mystical abilities." Bruce's voice penetrated her mind, forcing her to acknowledge this fact.

She nodded.

Before she could plan anything out perfectly, the battalion nearest to them sent out a force of Aisukurian men who were as white and frigid as the environment.

They were easily identified as local shamans or sorcerers. And they were powering up their long staffs in a blazing streak of amber light, the beginning of an offensive attack.

Diana thought fast.

"Cover your ears!" She ordered her comrades.

With that, Diana flew up into the air, careful to avoid in-air artillery and she quickly slammed her two bracelets together. It created a concussive blast that pounded the legion and the ground before them into the frosty land.

But the first sorcerer had already thrown off a sailing blast headed straight for Wally and Bruce.

In a flash, Diana zoomed down, ready to protect them. But the blast she had created had already caused enough damage to engulf the area in an avalanche.

The legion that had attacked them was now flailing about to regain their bearings, however, now both Batman _and_ Flash were in trouble.

Right before she could maneuver properly, Flash was struck by an arcanic bolt of yellow. Diana watched in horror as he was thrown down into a gaping hole that suddenly emerged below him.

Diana whipped around, her fleeting thoughts now focusing on Bruce. He was yelling at her, but over the commotion, she couldn't hear a thing.

Before she realized, her body was enveloped by a blast perfectly matching the one that had attacked Flash.

The world around her went black.

* * *

Diana woke up with a start. Her head was swimming, while her body was rigid and stiff. Next a paralyzing cold hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Easy, princess." Bruce's ever present baritone was a welcome change to her freezingly painful circumstances.

Sitting up delicately, she turned to look at him. He looked as graceful and stoic as ever, she felt like a battered mess.

In an attempt to fight off the dreadful chill that threatened to envelop her, Diana bit her lower lip and shut her eyes. The cold, if anything, was _unbearable_. Still, she wasn't going to tell him that. Her already wounded pride wouldn't allow her.

Usually, Diana never felt the extremities of harsh temperatures, whether it be raging heat or bitter cold. But this cold was _different. _And it was starting to take its toll on her already battered psyche.

In the still silence of the cave's expanse, Diana could feel Bruce's eyes roving about her body, undoubtedly checking for more bodily damaged.

"Shouldn't you be checking him for injuries?" She asked, nodding toward the unconscious body of the Flash.

"He wasn't previously recovering from an injury before entering this mission. His body heals at a rate that is faster than yours. As long as I'm assured that he's breathing," which both Diana and Bruce could see the slight lowering and raising of Wally's chest, "I know I can focus my attention elsewhere until we receive help. Or until _you_ get better."

Diana looked away in annoyance. She could barely stand, let alone fight off the harsh temperature. Flying them out of the cave was out of the question for the time being. Which bothered her to no end. She truly despised looking so weak and vulnerable. Especially in front of _him_.

"I know why you came on this mission, Bruce."

It was painfully obvious. She should have taken it as a compliment that he valued her well-being so immensely. Instead, Diana was finding it hard not to be frustrated with him treating her like a...weaker vessel. The Amazonian mantra and code of conduct that consistently ran through her mind would have found the notion utterly barbaric.

Rather than touching on the subject she had brought up, Bruce ignored it entirely. "You must be freezing."

"What makes you say that?" Diana asked while pulling her legs toward her chest in an attempt to wrap her arms around them. She failed to ward off a wince. Of course Bruce noticed it. Damn him.

"Your outfit does next to nothing in covering your body." Diana smiled inwardly upon hearing him say that. The idea of Bruce actually taking notice of her body was enough to warm her. If only slightly. "And your lips are developing a blue tinge."

Alarmed, Diana placed her hand to her mouth. Her finger tips brushed her bottom lip. "They are?"

He nodded, using his gloved index finger to gently lower her hand. "They are."

Diana held her breath, but Bruce was quick to retract his hand.. Though he was donning the cowl, he looked guilty, as if he had just given into temptation.

"I'm not sure what to do. Is there...." She paused. She was about to ask if they could somehow create a fire.. But there was nothing substantial in the cave to actually keep a flame ignited. Even if Bruce _had_ the means, it wouldn't last. And they both knew that.

In response, Bruce stood up and reached behind him to unclasp his cape. Diana watched as the cape fell into his hands in a single swift motion.

Without a word, Bruce wrapped it around Diana's shoulders.

She smiled at the chivalrous gesture, but then frowned while looking up at him. "Won't you get cold?"

"My suit regulates my body's core temperature."

"But for how long?"

It was a decent question. His suit couldn't possibly protect him through every abnormal weather extreme. That was impossible. Even for the Batman.

If Diana was being adversely affected, it was only a matter of time till Bruce was as well.

He looked down at his forearm and flipped up the small viewing screen that gave him a readout on his vitals and a detailed schematic of the area surrounding him.

"It's negative 54.9 degrees Fahrenheit. Currently." He took in a breath after watching it for a moment and Diana picked up on the slight change in his demeanor.

"What? What's happening?" She asked while continuing to hug the cape as if her life depended on it. Which, in hindsight, it _did_.

Bruce glanced upward towards the vaulted expanse of the ice cave, which happened to be nearly a thousand feet above them. "It must be nearly nightfall. The temperature's falling. Rapidly."

Diana's eyes widened.. How were they to survive? Diana was clearly the most powerful among the group, and she was nearly incapacitated

She stood up abruptly, ignoring the shooting pain that coursed throughout her body. Hera help her. She would do this! "I have got to get us out of here! If we could..." Diana paused to compose herself. "If we could make it to the javelin... we could--."

"Diana! Sit down!" He ordered gruffly. "Your body can't take it!"

She turned to glare at him, but he challenged it with one of his own.

Diana didn't have much of a fight left in her after a wave of pain pounded through her head. She was sure she was bound to crumple to the floor, but he caught her in time. Instead, Bruce's cape fluttered around them gracefully as it fell to the ground

"What's wrong with me? Why am I like this?"

After lowering her down to have her lay upon the cape, Bruce equipped himself with a handheld scanner. Diana was about to ask where it had come from, but he beat her to it.

"I keep one in my utility belt now. J'onn and I created these for the infirmary, utilizing Martian and Thanagarian technology," he explained while he started scanning her rigid form. "It's--" The device beeped, silencing him.

"Diana, you're practically radiating with arcanic energy. After that attack from Ares..."

She growled. "Please don't remind me."

Ares had a worse fate. He had Hera to answer to. Diana only needed to recuperate from a harrowing battle the petulant God of War had brought upon her. But her condition only worsened after being blasted with magical alien force.

"I understand you've never been so incapacitated in your lifetime. But the only way to get through this is with _rest_. Which you aren't providing your body with if you keep pushing yourself.... You are nearly as stubborn as I am."

Through the flashes of pain, Diana wondered silently why he was being so directly vocal with her. But what else could he do? Brood in the cave while she lay there quivering in unnatural agony?

"Since when have you become the expert on magical properties and its adverse effects?"

He sent her a knowing look.

And she knew it too well. "Don't answer that," she told him while turning on her side away from him.

With that, silence returned to the cave.

After the momentary quiet, Diana found it fitting to tell him they needed to share his cape, but before she could get the words out, he was already rectifying the problem.

Without notice, she could feel the entire length of his body pressed up against hers perfectly. In fact, as Bruce inched closer, she couldn't help but marvel at how perfectly well-fitted their bodies were together.

It was as though they were... well, made for each other. As silly as it sounded. This idea especially came to the forefront as Bruce melded himself to her while completely wrapping his arm around her waist.

Diana also noticed that his arm was slightly grazing her breasts, but she wasn't going to ask him to move it any time soon.

The only problem: her heart was beating out of control. If only he knew what kind of spell he had put on her. A spell that had been cast approximately two years ago and showed no signs of slowing.

"Our _exchange_ of body heat will provide the energy necessary to help you rest," he said slowly into her ear.

Diana nodded, trying to push the image of his mouth so close to a tender part of her body out of her mind.

After a moment of what felt like, at least for Diana, sheer bliss, Bruce spoke up again. "This actually might work better if we were facing each other."

This prospect froze her.. No pun intended.

But still, Bruce knew what was best when it came to survival tactics. So she figured it would be better for her to do as she was told.

_This isn't sexual. This isn't inappropriate. This is purely for the sake of staying alive. _

Even after flipping over and repeating her mantra, it became far more difficult to focus on once her face was mere inches from his. She was so close, she could now feel _his_ beating heart. It was almost in time with hers. And she wanted to get so much closer...

_Hera, give me strength._

"How are you feeling?" He asked while pushing her closer to him. He was inadvertently reading her mind by performing this action. Bruce stopped moving as soon as his chin was resting upon her head.

Diana was close enough she could smell his aftershave. If she allowed herself to revel in it, it created fantasies she didn't know she was capable of. He smelled like the Elysium Fields. With her eyes half closed, she started imagining herself there. With her lover... no, make that husband, by her side...

"Diana?"

Her eyelids fluttered open. "I'm sorry... What?"

She could now feel his gauntleted fingers slowly rubbing the lower half of her spine. And she never wanted it to stop.

"Are you feeling alright?"

She gently pulled her head away from the crook of his neck and surveyed the situation with a coherent mind. Their bodies had no space in between them, her chest was fully pushed into his and their hearts were beating in the same rhythmic pattern. And his body... even while being hidden beneath the layers of Kevlar, felt _amazing_. She knew this moment wouldn't last, but oh how she wished it would.

How was she feeling? If he only knew exactly _how_ she was feeling.

Diana looked straight into his white lenses and she considered pulling off the cowl so she could peer into his blue eyes. But she knew that would expose the greater part of his face to the increasing cold.

"I feel... wonderful," she answered finally.

The hand that had been teasing her body prior came into view. Diana was saddened it had left the small of her back. But instead, Bruce started stroking the side of her face idly.

"You gave me quite a scare, Diana," he said soulfully. "I can't lose you. I want you to know that..."

The words Diana wanted to speak seemed to be stuck in her throat, rather she nodded lightly.

"You're my anchor, you keep me grounded." He moved in closer, and Diana could now feel his breath upon her face. "That's why I came on this mission. If you weren't to come back... I-..."

Diana could hardly believe the emotion that Bruce was exhibiting. She supposed being on an alien planet, on the farthest side of the galaxy, while enduring harsh conditions could do that to a human being.

"I don't know what to say," Diana replied while staring into the lenses, not hiding anything from him.

"Don't say anything." And with that, Bruce closed the space between them (which wasn't much). Within seconds, Diana felt his mouth touching hers. Everything was cold at first, but as their lips moved in sync with one another, it created a fiery and well-needed heat.

Diana opened her mouth slowly as Bruce's tongue parted her lips and...

"Good God! It's like freakin' Santa's work shop in here!"

With that, Bruce pulled away. And Diana silently cursed Wally to the lowest depths of Tartarus.

Their mouths were still open, as they were gasping for air. While breathing in one another's exhales, they stared each other down. Diana felt as though the white lenses were boring a hole through her.

_This better not be over. Please don't let this be it._

Wally was soon hovering over them. "Hey! Guess who's awake!" He stared down at them momentarily. "What's going on here? And can I get in on this?"

Bruce shot him a glare. "Wally, it's freezing in here and Diana's still recovering."

Wally grinned and flexed his arms. "Well, I'm feeling pretty good. A bit groggy... but... what do you say to a ticket out of this place?"

A deafening crash was heard behind them, and all three craned their necks to see if it was more Aisukurians ready to attack them. Instead, it was the Boy Scout himself, who happened to be grinning from ear to ear.

"Got your distress call. Happy to see me?"

* * *

In a fuzzy state, Diana woke up slowly from a dream that had starred Bruce entirely. Big surprise there.

The consistent beep of the heart rate monitor was all that could be heard as she opened her eyes. The stark white environment of the infirmary, though the same color as the planet they had left, was an inviting change and she had never been happier to be in the Watchtower's rehabilitation room.

After shifting her weight in her bed and regaining full consciousness, Diana could sense someone occupying the room with her. She half expected it to be J'onn, ready to run a diagnostic on her at a moment's notice. She turned her head slowly and her blue eyes focused, rather, on the omnipresent black suit of the Dark Knight. As much as she appreciated her Martian friend, she was more than delighted to see Bruce standing there.

"Sleep well?"

She nodded hazily. "It was missing... _something_... but yes," she smiled up at him. "I feel one hundred percent better."

Diana watched as Bruce's demeanor never changed from his usual hardened visage. It worried her. But she had to remind herself that it was typical.

"You slept for three days," Bruce said somewhat humorously. "I guess you needed it."

Diana sat up. "Hera! Three days?"No wonder she was craving multiple iced mochas.

"After we had secured our javelin and followed Superman and Hawkgirl back to the Watchtower, you had completely passed out."

"Well, I guess I've learned a valuable lesson..."

"That we shouldn't interfere with inter-galactic politics unless cordially invited to?"

Diana made a face at that, "No. The fact that I'm not completely..."

"Without weakness?"

"Precisely." With that, Diana inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly while re-imagining the entirety of the mission. She was certainly thankful that her knight had been there to take care of her. Who knows if she and Wally could have left alive...

"Thank you, Bruce. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You are all too welcome, Princess." He smiled, and Diana specially noted that she loved seeing him smile while sporting the cowl. It was perfection at its finest. "And now... you owe me one."

She couldn't help with agreeing with him there. Oh how she was ready to pay him back....

Bruce's smile faded abruptly. "I suppose you're mostly likely hungry after sleeping for three days straight."

"Famished.."

"Dinner at the manor?"

It was now Diana's turn to smile. But hers was much broader than Bruce's had been. "I can't think of anything better."


End file.
